Wednesday, 2 December 2015

The ABCs of Death 2 (2015) DVD Review

Amongst the recent upswing in anthology horror movies, we've
had three V/H/S flicks (so far), and now we've got The ABCs of
Death 2, which returns to the '26 Directors, 26 Ways to Die' formula that
produced such a varied – and often downright bizarre – series of short films,
where crazed invention ruled above all else. Naturally, with such varied films
(and filmmakers), the results are mixed – read on for a run-down of the
Hits, Misses, and OK inbetweeners. N.B. This is my personal take: film viewing
is subjective, and your mileage with The ABCs of Death 2 may vary.

A is for “Amateur” (E.L. Katz):

Kicking things off in a high energy, music video style, the
first of twenty-six shorts details the exploits of an assassin – but the
perfect hit turns out to be a far more difficult (not to mention grubbier
and more painful) affair than intended. Featuring Andy Nyman (Severance),
this is a darkly comic treat. HIT.

B is for “Badger” (Julian Barratt):

A found footage style entry set during the recording of a
nature documentary called “Toland's World”, with The Mighty Boosh's
Julian Barratt as a preening Attenborough wannabe. A nearby nuclear power
station seems to have killed off the local badger population – or has it?
Typically British in its understated humour, but the jump scare fails to
startle … good gore, though. OK.

Click “READ MORE” below to learn your ABCs all over
again...

C is for “Capital Punishment” (Julian Gilbey):

A rural kangaroo court of snarling vigilantes condemn a man
to death for the murder of Lucy Wilson … trouble is, he's innocent. Liberal use
of blood and an impressive decapitation don't quite make up for a slightly
underwhelming conclusion. OK.

D is for “Deloused” (Robert Morgan):

The first animated entry proves to be a decidedly strange,
gruesome, confusing nightmare of a thing. The gooey, ghoulish models are well
designed, but you don't have any real idea why these things are happening …
however, as a result the film takes on a Raimi-meets-Lynch vibe. HIT.

E is for “Equilibrium” (Alejandro Brugués):

Two male castaways, almost caveman-like in their simplicity,
are thrown into a bitter battle after a beautiful woman washes ashore. The
passage of time – and the change in their lives – is seamlessly joined by a
snazzy bit of camera work … one for any unlucky-in-love boys out there. OK.

F is for “Falling” (Aharon Keshales & Navot
Papushado):

An Israeli woman is trapped in her parachute which has got
stuck in a tree in Palestinian territory, when along comes a young soldier to
cut her down. The socio-political commentary on offer could do with some
clarification, focus, and added bite, while the pay-off proves disappointing.
MISS.

G is for “Grandad” (Jim Hosking):

A clash of the ages as a wretched young man with delusions
of grandeur bemoans having to live with his grandfather. There's a nifty 'under
the bed' gag, but this peculiar entry doesn't make an awful lot of sense when
all is said and done, doing more to confuse than chill. MISS.

H is for “Head Games” (Bill Plympton):

More animation – drawn this time – focusing on the heads of
a kissing couple. Love turns to war though – with machine gun eyeballs and
flying saucer ears, and more – in a particularly weird, but rather inventive
call to 'make love, not war'. HIT.

One of the darkest entries in The ABCs of Death 2, in
which the homophobic – and strictly religious – father of a gay son seeks to
'remove the demon inside' via torture. The way things play out – in a vengeful
manner – make for a statement that could easily be misinterpreted, but (considering
it made the cut), it's just in need of a little clarification. OK.

K is for “Knell” (Kristina Buozyte & Bruno Samper):

A swirling black orb in the sky sends the residents of a
nearby tower block into a murderous frenzy, as witnessed through their windows
from afar. Despite the strange and unclear ending, it's generally well
executed. HIT.

L is for “Legacy” (Lancelot Imasuen):

An entry from Africa helps mix things up a bit, but the tale
of a tribal sacrifice that fails to go ahead – resulting in a slightly ropey
monster being unleashed – doesn't translate that well on-screen for the
majority who are unlikely to be clued-up on African folklore (so the film
seems to suggest, at least). Evidently a more DIY effort from
up-and-comers, it's a commendable entry that ultimately needed more work. MISS.

M is for “Masticate” (Robert Boocheck):

Much like the first anthology, a letter was set aside for a
competition – the winner of which would have their short featured in the final
movie. Last time it was Lee Hardcastle's “T is for Toilet”, and this time the
letter of choice for competing filmmakers was “M”. Stylishly shot in super slow
motion and featuring a large, hairy, and wet man rampaging down an American street,
it unfurls gradually and pays off in the closing moments. HIT.

N is for “Nexus” (Larry Fessenden):

Halloween in New York – will you be my Valenstine? The
Monster and The Bride want to hook up, but a coming-together of converging
events brings about tragedy. OK.

O is for “Ochlocracy” (Hajime Ohata):

Meaning “mob rule”, this spin on the tried-and-true zombie
genre is one of the main highlights of The ABCs of Death 2. A woman is
put on trial – by the un-undead, who have been cured by the 'Z-cu' vaccine –
for her crimes, namely killing zombies as she frantically tried to survive.
Excellent make-up work, a nifty idea, and spot-on execution. HIT.

P is for “P-P-P-P-Scary” (Todd Rohal):

Surely there's plenty of titles/subjects that could have
been picked for the letter “P” without having to bend the rules? An odd, silent
film-ish entry that features a trio of stammering Laurel & Hardy-like
criminals (with striped overalls and exaggerated noses) creeping through
the sepia-toned darkness. They encounter someone in the murk, in what becomes
just plain silly rather than surreal. MISS.

Q is for “Questionnaire” (Rodney Ascher):

An intelligence test leads to an unnecessarily brutal brain
transplant. It doesn't make much – if any – sense, and feels sorely under-written.
MISS.

R is for “Roulette” (Marvin Kren):

Another stand-out entry here as a trio of German party-goers
in the 1930s/40s play a game of Russian Roulette. There is one bullet in the
chamber and the tension is palpable. The tale unfolds perfectly as the truth of
the situation is revealed. HIT.

S is for “Split” (Juan Martinez Moreno):

Another one of the very best shorts featured in this
anthology. A phone call home – played out in split screen – turns nasty when an
intruder invades a married man's home. The sting in the tail is deliciously
twisted. HIT.

T is for “Torture Porn” (Jen & Sylvia Soska):

The Soska sisters (American Mary) bring their
devilish brand of sexual politics to the fore, as a shy girl – with incredible
blue eyes – is interviewed on-camera by a trio of misogynists who also happen
to be producers of mucky movies. Conor Sweeney of Astron-6 plays the lead
scumbag who'll wish they'd cast another girl in their smut flick. HIT.

U is for “Utopia” (Vincenzo Natali):

More of a sci-fi entry than horror, this glossy short
features a world populated by the beautiful people, who encounter a 'sub-norm'.
A satire on ultra-consumerism and its vapid slaves. HIT.

V is for “Vacation” (Jerome Sable):

A skewering of the culture of disrespectful Western holidaymakers
charging about Thailand for cheap sex is told via a Skype call. There's the odd
bit of dodgy dialogue (“are those hard drugs?”), but the bloody climax
chills. HIT.

W is for “Wish” (Steven Kostanski):

My personal favourite out of all twenty-six shorts. From the
director of Manborg, a couple of kids – in what starts out as a toy
commercial – wish they could travel into the world of their favourite play set.
Turns out the He-Man alike universe – in which a bloodthirsty war rages
– is the last place any gung-ho kid would ever want to be. Considering
Kostanski's ability to turn very little money into an awful lot of impressively
designed on-screen mayhem, it's no surprise that this is the most visually
stunning entry in the anthology. Frankly, it puts some of the cheaper efforts
to shame. Featuring a cameo by Jen & Sylvia Soska, a vast world is laid out
before the viewer, with a gleeful amount of gloopy gore and practical effects (puppets,
stop-motion animation) on offer. HIT.

X is for “Xylophone” (Julien Maury & Alexandre
Bustilo):

An evening of babysitting with granny turns spectacularly
grim when the child's constant hammering at a xylophone sends her guardian over
the edge. Very bloody, but its straight-forward nature suffers when coming
right after W is for Wish. OK.

Y is for “Youth” (Soichi Umezawa):

A teenage girl fantasises about killing her neglectful,
selfish, unloving parents. One of the stranger shorts in the collection, it
also ends up being quite inventive (giant killer hamburger and projectile
fries, anyone?), and – obviously – not a little bit bizarre. HIT.

Z is for “Zygote” (Chris Nash):

A rather dark tale in which a husband leaves his heavily
pregnant wife at their remote home. He says he'll be back soon, but that she
should eat a particular type of root that will – with no explanation – delay
the birth. Years later and still he hasn't returned, and the woman has ended up
dragging around a thirteen year old (who talks!) in her womb. Insanely
over-the-top when the grue starts flying, it makes for an especially twisted
climax to the anthology, that is put on-screen with considerable skill. A Grimm
fairytale for the gore film generation. HIT.

All said and done it's a case of 14 hits, 5 misses, and 7 OK
inbetweeners (compared to the original film's tally of 17-3-6, in this
reviewer's opinion), with the middle portion of the movie being the most
uneven. Like last time, total artistic freedom was afforded to the directors,
and much like last time there are some curious tonal shifts – e.g. the dark
comedy of “Invincible” gives way to the graphic torture of “Jesus” – but it's
just as gory, bizarre, and full-bore crazy as ever. There are fewer 'big names'
attached here, but it will be interesting to see what becomes of some of these
newbie/niche market helmers in the coming years.

This single disc DVD from Monster Pictures features a series
of trailers as the only additional content, falling well short of the
double-disc, featurette-packed treatment the first film received. Subjectively
the quality of the films vary, but the visual and aural presentation of all are
fairly consistent – but certain entries do stand head and shoulders above the
others – technically speaking though, the presentation is solid. Curiously, the
back cover states a running time of 86 minutes – which is surprising,
considering The ABCs of Death was 123 minutes long – but it is in fact a
misprint. The ABCs of Death 2 clocks in at a slightly shorter 117
minutes (13 of which are opening and closing credits). Be sure to stick
around for/fast forward to the very end of the credits for a Human Centipede-related
cameo.

The selection of filmmakers is once again an international
crop, and perhaps there has been a conscious decision to encourage some of the
non-English entries to avoid dialogue if possible (did the amount of
foreign-language entries up-front in the first film irk some viewers?).
Sometimes scary, sometimes strange, and occasionally disappointing, fans of The
ABCs of Death will know exactly what to expect. The sequel may not be quite
as over-the-top or eye-popping as the original article, but it's well worth
checking out. If you find you don't like the short you're watching, chances are
that one you'll dig will be right around the corner. Naturally, opinions
regarding which entries Hit and Miss will change from viewer to viewer –
there's something for everyone here.

About Me

I am a British freelance filmmaker, as well as a writer, movie fanatic, and zombie obsessive. I am the author of "Dug Deep" and the "Celebrityville" series of books, and write for Sleaze Fiend Magazine and Homepage of the Dead.
Of the many filmmakers who influence me, some are: Romero, Raimi, Carpenter, Cameron, Fincher, Tarantino, Rodriguez, Kubrick, Boyle, Zombie, Martino, Fulci, Argento, Cronenberg, Marshall, Smith, Nolan, Dominik, Scott, Mann, Hooper, De Palma, Leone, Spielberg and Zemeckis.